Google’s release cycle has never been particularly dependable, but there’s usually a pattern: the new version of Android is released, the products supporting that version are released, and the source code for that version is available at some point in the future. Open source developers like the CyanogenMod team will then take that code and use it to bring their existing ROM’s to the most current version of Android. Just after the Nexus 4, Nexus 10, and Nexus 7 3G went on sale the source code for Android 4.2 was released to the Android Open Source Project.

As is typical with their releases, the Google Group for Android Building came alive as AOSP technical lead Jean-Baptiste Queru posted the details for the newest addition to the platform. In the post, Queru commented on the various devices that are now supported. The Nexus 10, for example, is hailed by the technical lead as being the most “open” flagship device to have been released so far. The Nexus 7 3G, on the other hand, is not currently supported by AOSP due to some licensing issues with the 3G component of the tablet. Galaxy Nexus and the WiFi Nexus 7 support has been included, but there is currently no support for the Nexus 4 at all.

This release of Android could also signify the end of support for the Nexus S and the Motorola Xoom. The 4.2 update does not offer support for either of these former flagships, with the only note about them being that 4.1.2 is the version that they should continue to use. The release date for these fall in line with previous statements from Google about the life expectancy of software updates, specifically that there should be 16 months of software support. It makes perfect sense, with the release of the Nexus 10 and the Nexus 4, that Google would expect users to move on.

Obviously there’s no mention of when to expect updated for any specific smartphone or tablet, but the release of the source code makes it easy for third party developers to start the process of working the new material into their own ROMs. The release to AOSP marks the final public step of the Android release cycle, which more than likely means we’ll start hearing rumors about the next version in a week or two.

Reader Comments

Anybody seeing this being integrated into CyanogenMod10 or see a bulletin on the CM blog hinting at CM11? :D

topgun966

The last nightly hinted of a version but i think they are doing 10.# because its not a full release (Still Jelly Bean).

NitzMan

And here’s the reason I moved away from Android. I expect at least 24 months of software support on my device. Windows Phone 7.0 devices were upgraded to 7.1, 7.5 and now 7.8. My iPhone was on 4.0, then 5.0 and now 6.0.